iZombie Season 2 Episode 3 – TV Review

We ain’t got time for sympathy when there’s so much else going on, anyway.

TL;DR The COW is a simple affair, but it does intersect with Steven Weber; Liv and Major continue to be estranged when Liv finds out he’s working for Max Rager; Peyton returns, but is yet to see Liv; Secretary is more than just Steven’s, well, secretary; there is no Blaine this episode.

We haven’t even got time for Blaine, baby.

Off with the COW: a Real Housewives wannabe is attacked and murdered by a mystery man. Red herrings include her quick-to-anger husband, two equally vapid best friends, and Mr Max Rager himself, Steven Weber, with whom she was having an affair. But it turns out the husband’s golddigging mistress ordered a hit on her. A tale as old as time. Liv, having become shallow and fashion-obsessed, spends the episode palling it up with the mistress (who had been posing as Husband’s stylist to disguise their relationship), and is heartbroken when her new best friend turns out to be a killer. And she was the only one who had planned to spend Liv’s birthday dinner with her, as Ravi and Babineaux brush off an earlier invitation to hang (though, Liv didn’t tell them it was her birthday). Luckily, Peyton’s back in town. And while she only visits Major and Ravi, she does leave Liv a birthday cake. Aww. Meanwhile, Liv runs into Major at Max Rager, which only causes Major further angst to fuel his Utopium depression spiral while he continues to assassinate zombies; Ravi has unresolved feeling for Peyton; Peyton, as ADA, is heading up an anti-Utopium task force; Steven Weber murders Husband, an opposing Max Rager board member; and it turns out Secretary is Steven’s daughter. I think. And she seduces Major.

Because she looks exactly like Liv, you know. Major must have a type.

So yeah, it’s another solid episode of iZombie. We’re only on episode 3, so I’m not surprised that we’re yet to hit any soaring moments of memory-searing drama.

But iZombie is the master of the quiet burn.

Where Blaine at, tho?

Why I hate this episode:

The lack of Blaine is pretty much the only thing wrong with the episode. And considering that his absence leaves room for other important subplots to breathe, it is arguably not a problem, anyway. Fan blindness aside, though, Blaine pushes the actual plot harder than Liv does (Liv carries the weight of the soap operatics), so I did miss him.

Babineaux continues to be held back. I don’t know how he’s ever going to make any progress on his Meat Cute suspicions if he keeps getting so dismissively blocked.

Nobody has noticed that Liv and Secretary look alike yet. Am I on crazy pills?

Those shoes Liv wanted were pretty blah.

I would have liked a bit more time with the victim’s bitchy friends.

Oh, and Liv should have just told Ravi and Babineaux that it was her birthday. I can’t sympathise with your angst if you cause it through your own unnecessary silence, Liv.

But it’s not all bad:

The revelation that it was Liv’s birthday, and that’s why she was trying to organise a dinner with Ravi and Babineaux, is done refreshingly subtly. iZombie doesn’t hit you over the head with it. The failed plans happen early on, and we don’t find out it’s Liv’s birthday until much later in an entirely unrelated scene between Liv and the Mistress. The anvil drops soon enough when we see Liv buying booze alone and mourning her isolation, but I appreciated that the episode gave you time to make the connection yourself.

Peyton seems to be coming to terms with Liv’s zombification. She is cool enough to discuss it with Ravi, and while she doesn’t see Liv, she does leave a birthday cake for her. The only person to remember it’s Liv’s birthday, it seems.

I look forward to seeing Peyton’s task force clash with Blaine. She’s pretty feisty, so I think she’ll be a good match for him.

The COW is pretty standard jealous mistress stuff, but I enjoyed that it involved Steven Weber. In the end, his affair with the victim is tangential to the case, but it does cause Husband to confront Steven in private, which leads to Steven taking Husband down to his secret lab to supposedly show him the new product that will save the company. Of course, Steven instead sets a zombie on Husband to kill him. Classic.

Can you imagine if Steven and Blaine joined forces? They’d be unstoppable.

Major continues to sell his role as iZombie’s punching bag. He mournfully keeps on with his assassination gig, while taking Utopium to numb himself. When he bumps into Liv at Max Rager, she’s pissed off enough that he’d deign to do personal trainer work for someone like Steven Weber. Her reaction when she finds out the truth will be atomic.

Secretary picks the Single White Female route and seduces Major. Watch out for high-heeled shoes to the eye, Major. Steven could give you some pointers.

Secretary has a whinge at Steven about fucking the victim, as she’s a board member’s wife. Steven quickly reminds her that if it wasn’t for his philandering, that she wouldn’t exist. So I assume that means she’s his illegitimate daughter. I’d be cool with that, but knowing iZombie, the lack of exact words could mean something else, too. Intriguing.

Secretary informs Major that Steven’s original plan to deal with the zombie nuisance was to invite every suspect on the list, actual zombie or no, on a free cruise. And then sink the cruise ship. She encourages Major to continue his work, or else Steven is still happy to give that a shot as a Plan B. It’s pragmatic.

Major assassinates a zombie who’s out running with his dog. And he keeps the dog. Aww.

Liv gets best line of the episode when referring to Peyton in a conversation with her new friend, the mistress: “A long time ago, we used to be friends.” I get it.